''Frontiers'' is the eighth studio album by the American
rock band
Journey, released in January 1983, by
. This was the band's last album to feature bassist
Ross Valory until 1996's ''
Trial by Fire''.
The album reached No. 2 on the
''Billboard'' 200 chart
and would garner four top 40 singles: "
After the Fall" (No. 23), "
Send Her My Love" (No. 23), "
Faithfully" (No. 12), and "
Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" (No. 8),
and a rock radio hit in "Chain Reaction". The album would later achieve the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
certification of six times platinum.
[RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Journey](_blank)
Retrieved on June 30, 2013.
The album had been sequenced and prepped for pressing when, in a last-minute conference with Journey's A&R man Michael Dillbeck, two songs were pulled from the original lineup, "Ask the Lonely" and "Only the Young". These two tracks were replaced with "Back Talk" and "Troubled Child". "Ask the Lonely" was utilized in the soundtrack for the film ''
Two of a Kind''. "Only the Young" would find its way into the Top Ten two years later, as part of the soundtrack of the movie ''
Vision Quest''.
The band recorded a song called "All That Really Matters," with keyboardist Jonathan Cain singing lead, during the album sessions. It didn't see release until the 1992 release of the ''
Time3'' box set.
''Frontiers'' was the band's highest-charting album in the United Kingdom, reaching No. 6 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
in 1983.
Album artwork
Jim Welch designed the album cover. This was the first album cover since ''
Next
NeXT, Inc. (later NeXT Computer, Inc. and NeXT Software, Inc.) was an American technology company headquartered in Redwood City, California that specialized in computer workstations for higher education and business markets, and later develope ...
'' that did not employ the talents of
Stanley Mouse
Stanley George Miller (born October 10, 1940), better known as Mouse or Stanley Mouse, is an American artist who is notable for his 1960s psychedelic rock concert poster designs and album covers for the Grateful Dead, Journey, and other bands.
...
and
Alton Kelley
Alton Kelley (June 17, 1940 – June 1, 2008) was an American artist known for his psychedelic art, in particular his designs for 1960s rock concert posters and album covers. Along with artists Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse, Victor Moscoso ...
.
Welch, who has been Journey's art designer for more than 30 years (as of 2022), commented: "''Frontiers'' was a subtle shift. Mouse and Kelley were not involved with that cover. My vision for ''Frontiers'' was based on "tunnels" and the relativity of time and motion. Light stays the same, but time bends. It was Einstein theories for artist interpretation. The alien in ''Frontiers'' wasn't really an alien at all, he was a connection to a higher level of listening to Journey."
Critical reception
In 2005, ''Frontiers'' was ranked number 363 in ''
Rock Hard'' magazine's book ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''.
Track listing
Personnel
;Band members
*
Steve Perry
Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and frontman of the rock band Journey during their most successful years from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. He wrote/co-wrote ...
– lead vocals
*
Neal Schon
Neal Joseph Schon (born February 27, 1954) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist for the rock band Journey. He is the last original member to remain throughout the group's history. He was a memb ...
– lead guitar, backing vocals
*
Jonathan Cain – keyboards, rhythm guitar, backing vocals
*
Ross Valory – bass guitar, backing vocals
*
Steve Smith – drums, percussion
;Additional Musicians
*
Randy Jackson
Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive, television presenter and musician, best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013.
Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing b ...
– bass guitar on "After the Fall"
;Production
*
Mike Stone – producer, engineer, mixing
*Kevin Elson – producer, mixing
*Wally Buck – assistant engineer
*
Bob Ludwig
Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists, including Led Zeppeli ...
– mastering
Charts
Certifications
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frontiers (album)
Journey (band) albums
1983 albums
Columbia Records albums
Albums produced by Mike Stone (record producer)
Albums produced by Kevin Elson